大仙囑童 The Immortal’s Charge
當日鎮元大仙得元始天尊的簡帖，邀他到上清天彌羅宮中聽講「混元道果」。大仙門下出的散仙，也不計其數，見如今還有四十八個徒弟，都是得道的全真。當日帶領四十六個上界去聽講，留下兩個絕小的看家：一個喚做清風，一個喚做明月。清風只有一千三百二十歲，明月才交一千二百歲。鎮元子吩咐二童道：「不可違了大天尊的簡帖，要往彌羅宮聽講，你兩個在家仔細。不日有一個故人從此經過，卻莫怠慢了他。可將我人參果打兩個與他吃，權表舊日之情。」当日镇元大仙得元始天尊的简帖，邀他到上清天弥罗宫中听讲「混元道果」。大仙门下出的散仙，也不计其数，见如今还有四十八个徒弟，都是得道的全真。当日带领四十六个上界去听讲，留下两个绝小的看家：一个唤做清风，一个唤做明月。清风只有一千三百二十岁，明月才交一千二百岁。镇元子吩咐二童道：「不可违了大天尊的简帖，要往弥罗宫听讲，你两个在家仔细。不日有一个故人从此经过，却莫怠慢了他。可将我人参果打两个与他吃，权表旧日之情。」
逐句解 Line by line
That day the Great Immortal Zhenyuan received a note from the Primordial Heavenly Worthy, bidding him to the Miluo Palace in the Heaven of Highest Clarity to hear the exposition of the "Fruit of the Undifferentiated Way."
元始天尊, Yuán shǐ Tiān zūn, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy, is the highest of the Three Pure Ones and effectively the supreme deity of the Daoist pantheon. He does not send invitations to minor figures. 彌羅宮, Mí luó Gōng, the Miluo Palace; 混元道果, hùn yuán dào guǒ, the "fruit of primal undifferentiation," a doctrine-title.
The lesser immortals who had gone forth from the Great Immortal's gate were past all counting; and even now he had eight-and-forty disciples, every one a Perfected One who had attained the Way.
散仙, sàn xiān, are unattached immortals — adepts who attained the Way without a post in the celestial bureaucracy, freelancers rather than civil servants. 全真, quán zhēn, "Complete Reality," names both a real Daoist school and, here, the Perfected who have finished the work. Zhènyuán has produced more of the former than anyone can count and still keeps forty-eight of the latter on the premises.
That day he took forty-six of them up to the higher realms to hear the lecture, and left the two youngest behind to keep the house — one named Pure-Wind, one named Bright-Moon.
Two names to remember: 清風, Qīng fēng, Pure-Wind, and 明月, Míng yuè, Bright-Moon. Together they make a stock phrase for a serene evening, which is a fair description of their temperaments and a very poor guide to how the day is going to go. 看家, kān jiā, to mind the house.
Pure-Wind was but one thousand three hundred and twenty years old; Bright-Moon had only just turned one thousand two hundred.
The joke lands in the numbers. The two "youngest," left behind because they are too small to take along, are 1,320 and 1,200 years old. 才交, cái jiāo, had only just turned.
Master Zhenyuan charged the two boys, saying, "The Great Heavenly Worthy's summons must not be crossed; I must go to the Miluo Palace to hear the lecture. You two, keep careful watch at home.
The master's instructions begin. 違了, wéi le, to disobey; 仔細, zǐ xì, be careful — the same word Tripiṭaka used about the mountain, and it will be no more effective here.
Before many days an old friend will pass this way — see you do not slight him.
故人, gù rén, an old acquaintance. 怠慢, dài màn, to treat someone slightingly.
You may knock down two of my ginseng-fruits for him to eat, as a token of the regard of former days."
The instruction that starts the fire: give him two. 打兩個 — literally knock two down, since the fruit has to be struck from the branch. 權表, quán biǎo, to serve provisionally as a token. Two is a courtesy, and two is also a limit.
Zhènyuán comes into focus, and every detail raises him. The Primordial Heavenly Worthy — the supreme figure of the Daoist pantheon — has personally summoned him to hear the highest doctrine expounded. He has produced more unattached immortals than anyone can count, and still keeps forty-eight fully Perfected disciples on hand. He is not merely powerful; he is senior.
And then the novel undercuts it, as it always does. The two disciples he leaves behind are the babies of the house, too young to take along to a lecture — aged 1,320 and 1,200. Their names, Pure-Wind and Bright-Moon, make a set phrase for a tranquil evening, which is exactly the mood they are about to lose.
The charge he gives them is the plot's whole mechanism, stated in advance and in the plainest terms. An old friend is coming. Do not slight him. Give him two of the fruits — two, not three, not a handful. Everything that goes wrong in this chapter goes wrong against instructions that were perfectly clear.